BANKING ANALYTICS

Ranking of the Azerbaijani banking sector (ranking includes the information component of the banking sector, the main events of the world economy, the analytical review of the main indices of the banks which are being ranked)

Air pollution in Iran still heavy, officials seeking solution

Since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (started in March 2013), there have been only four healthy days in Tehran, the governor of Tehran province, Hossein Hashemi said, Iranian IRNA news agency reported on Feb. 24.

Hashemi made the remarks at the first meeting of the Tehran province administrative council, where various problems of the province were being discussed.

It should be noted that last Iranian calendar year Tehran experienced 147 days in which air quality was substandard based on the PSI (Pollutant Standards Index), according to Iranian Parliament's Environment Committee Mohammadreza Tabesh.

Hossein Hashemi said that air pollution remains a serious issue for the capital city, and added that mostly, the pollution continues because people use old cars.

"Currently, there are about 8600 old taxis in Tehran, as well as about 252 000 old Samand and Pride model cars, the owners of which sometimes use their cars as taxis. And there are 200 000 more cars which work as taxis by phone," he explained.

The air over Iran's capital is amongst the most polluted in the world. Experts say many Iranians suffer serious health problems as a result.

Motor vehicles account for 70 percent of pollution in the Iranian capital. Low quality gasoline and diesel is partially responsible for the problem.

Hashemi further said that there are more issues that need direct attention, such as lack of electricity in some of Iran's provinces, as well as pollution of water.

He noted that the country's president Hassan Rouhani gave relevant orders to establish a committee for solving these problems.